


Negotiatus

by iceyly



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, sort of but not really?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-21 00:02:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9521828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iceyly/pseuds/iceyly
Summary: To Negotiate – To confer with others in order to come to terms or reach an agreement.Or: Serena has questions to be answered, Shun wants to know where he stands and Reiji will gladly provide for both of them. On his terms, of course.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this fic is like. Age-old actually? The file was created in March 2015, before the episode it's centered around was even broadcasted??? And it's still not finished? I'm slowly working my way through the last part of it though, so I figured I might be finally ready to post the first part up! :D
> 
> Enjoy!

Reiji would be the first to acknowledge that the Battle Royal has spiraled beyond his original designs – maybe not to the point of the Worst Case, but even with Academia’s assault thwarted the results are grim, at the low side of his calculation’s scale.

All but one of the Youth class’ Top 8 and over half of the Junior Youth’s Top 16 have been defeated and in most cases sealed away – just like Marco and Tio and the other three Top Team members that Kurosaki had engaged during his vendetta against LDS. Hiiragi Yuzu has vanished in the chaos, is now gone without a trace (probably not taken by Academia, but nobody needs to know that just yet). Kurosaki is as good as out of commission for the next few days if not more, for all that he’s kept fighting despite his injuries, for all that he’s proven his ability to charge against Academia, for all that that wasn’t quite his assignment.

“If those eight get whipped out, I’ll have no choice but to engage,” Kurosaki had warned him just before the Battle Royal, blunt as ever, and yet it’s not just arrogance, but experience with that he speaks. His opinion of LDS – of all the Duelists Reiji and his mother have gathered and trained ever since that day he had stumbled into the Fusion Dimension and discovered Akaba Leo’s plans – has never been particular high, and recent events are forcing Reiji to agree.

For all that they have tried to prepare them, there is something that their duelists are lacking, that makes them vulnerable against Academia. Reiji has suspected as much, has set alternatives in motion ever since Sakaki Yuuya had discovered Pendulum Summon, but that doesn’t make the reality any less bleak.

The greatest twist of the last two days are perhaps the actions of Serena though, the fact that she had pulled Kurosaki away after his loss against Shiunin Sora, that she had never thought twice to fight Academia side by side with him to keep herself out of their hands even though she had announced to hunt him down herself just days ago.

Whatever brought on that change, he can’t say it isn’t welcome, not when it opens up the chance of her becoming their ally, when they just might gain more valuable information on the structure of Academia’s forces through her. Not when it means keeping her – the one person his father was so very determined to keep within his island’s borders when he had last seen him – out of Akaba Leo’s reach.

Even if she refuses to join forces yet again, Serena remains their one true bargaining chip that will allow them to buy the time they need to prepare the Lancers. One way or another, keeping her safe will be crucial in the weeks to come.

By the time he makes it down into the streets to coordinate the aftermath and debrief the Battle Royal’s survivors, Serena is already barking angry demands for medical assistance at the members of the Top Team he has sent to assess the situation and take care of any immediate needs. Every now and then she glances back over her shoulder at Kurosaki, who is leaning back against concrete wall, while keeping both eyes on Serena and frowning almost troubled.

“I’ll take it from here,” he tells the uniformed squad just after Nakajima confirms their private medical services on stand-by, stepping towards Kurosaki, who pushes off the wall to meet him just seconds later. For all that Reiji is almost certain what the answer will be, he wants to hear Kurosaki’s assessment of the potential Lancers within the Junior Youth class before he makes his final choice, before he reveals the truth that will change their world view for good.

“If they survived dueling Academia in this setting, they should qualify for your Lancers well enough,” Kurosaki murmurs as he attempts to brush past him. Reiji catches his arm before he passes entirely, fingers curling lightly around the tense muscle of Kurosaki’s biceps as he lets his eyes drift to where the other’s right hand is pressed into his left side.

“We’ll have that looked at,” is all he says, lightly squeezing Kurosaki’s arm – the other should really know better than to assume that this is up for debate. There is a flicker of annoyance on Kurosaki’s face, but by now the other seems to have learned which fights to pick and when to comply.

“Do as you like,” he mutters before pulling away, almost faltering for a second before Serena slips forward to take his arm and act as his crutch once more – glaring at Reiji on her way, before she proceeds to chide Kurosaki (“Will you stop moving so much already? You’ll just make that worse.”) – and despite all, despite her undisputed origin and allegiance, Kurosaki _lets_ her. Curious. The implications will have to wait though – at least until Reiji has had word with his chosen Lancers.

“I believe, you know the way,” he calls after them, and doesn’t expect more answer than the faint wave-off Kurosaki doesn’t even bother to glance back at him for.

He sends Nakajima instructions to have them picked up anyway.

It’s almost sunset by the time that the immediate aftermath is sorted out and Reiji returns to the Leo Corporation tower (duels fought and won, and whatever Sakaki Yuuya does next will have to be his very own choice) – exhausted by the days gone by. Watching and assessing and knowing the costs of one’s actions is its own sort of burden; the fate of sixteen duelists rests on his soul and Reiji is not one to fool himself. He knows that pile will only grow with every step towards the true battle against Academia.

Ultimately, the Battle Royal was only a taste towards things to come.

His own exhaustion will have to wait to be tended to; he has already been given the medic’s report of Kurosaki’s state before he even enters the elevator up towards the lodgings they keep within the tower.

(Heavy bruising, two fractured ribs; they’ve prescribed Kurosaki painkillers and recommended him to take it easy for the next four weeks at very least. Reiji takes note, but doubts that he can allow the Xyz duelist to be sidelined for quite that long. Kurosaki is unlikely to agree to stay put anyhow).

Serena, he is told, is still refusing to leave Kurosaki’s side and has positioned herself within Kurosaki’s two-room apartment, rather than to allow anyone to move her into one of her own. The Top Team escort Nakajima had ordered to stay at her side is nowhere to be found, unsurprisingly. It’s not hard to guess just which of his ‘guests’ made them flee; Kurosaki, while ever annoyed with his surveillance of him, usually just scoffs and endures and out of the two of them, Serena is definitely the more vocal one.

“I was wondering when you would show,” is how she greets him when she lets him into the apartment, arms crossing after she strides towards the settee and leans against its back, her back towards the closed bedroom door – her stance is almost defensive… it has something of a guard.

Kurosaki is nowhere to be seen.

“While I trust that you haven’t attempted to follow through with the intentions you arrived with–“ the room would look rather differently, if she had for one and he would have long heard about a summon detection, but still: “–I do have to wonder… where is Kurosaki right now?”

“Asleep.” She answers, a faintly concerned frown settling on her face as she breaks his gaze and lets her eyes drift over her shoulder to the closed door behind her. “I doubt he’s gotten any chance to rest since before the start of your Battle Royal. Between that and the painkillers…”

True enough, the disappearance of his comrade had seemed to be weighting quite a bit on Kurosaki in the days before. Maybe he should pass the other’s deck back to him – once the laboratory is done with its analysis of the duel disk design the Resistance had come to use anyhow.

Be that as it may…

“I don’t think I have thanked you for your assistance to Kurosaki in the Battle Royal yet. His skills and experience with Academia will serve the Lancers well. Yours would too, if you are willing, Serena. My invitation to you still stands.”

And it will continue to, for the times being. Keeping her safe and within reach should be much easier with her cooperation than without it, after all.

Serena’s jaw clenches before she shakes her head sharply.

“You misunderstand. I told you that they would come after me and that I would defeat them once they did. That is all,” she says. “I believe in the Professor and the ambitions of Academia. I’m not going to join your crusade against him.”

“Then what, I wonder, are you doing here?” he asks. “Why protect Kurosaki from Academia? Do you still wish to fight him yourself? Were you just defending your stake on him as your prey within Academia’s hunting game?”

Her eyes flash as she bristles – for all that the accusation has merit, she takes it as affront – before she presses her lips together and hisses: “Don’t insult me; I fight for the honor and justice of Academia. It’s not a game!”

Reiji just meets her glare with an impassive stare of his own; he won’t let her remain without an answer, will have her removed if need be. Given the outcome of the Battle Royal, he would rather not risk losing Kurosaki as an asset. Finally Serena breaks away and throws another quick glance over to the closed door of Kurosaki’s bedroom.

“…I met that girl you mentioned. Hiiragi Yuzu. There are things she told me… things I need to know and the only one who I can trust to answer properly is Kurosaki. I won’t leave until I know the truth. If you don’t believe me, ask her!”

Her hands clench, though Reiji can’t tell if it’s in anger or determination. He doesn’t know what Hiiragi said to change Serena’s mind like that, or what truth she is pursuing – not yet, though he has some guesses and it seems likely that Tsukikage’s report will be able to shed light on that – but as long as she refrains from assaulting Kurosaki the moment he is well enough to give her a proper fight again, it doesn’t matter.

It just means he can put his mind off of her and Kurosaki and focus on much more pressing matters; between the fall-out of the tournament’s interruption and the lies they will have to feed to the public, the briefing of his new Lancers and Sakaki Yuuya’s pending decision on whether to join them or not, his day (or – at this point – night) is not about to get any easier. But then, Reiji didn’t claim the seat of Leo Corporation’s CEO with any illusion of having something remotely like easy days.

“That may turn out to be difficult. As things stand it appears that Hiiragi Yuzu was taken by Academia. They may have mistaken her for you, I believe.”

He sees that faint flinch, the second that she isn’t quite looking at him – she does seem to feel guilty about Hiiragi’s fate. In that case…

“Knowing that, you should act in accord to her wishes. Talk to Kurosaki once he wakes and have him tell you all about the tragedy that Academia inflicted upon the Xyz Dimension. I have no doubts that he will accommodate your request.”

Kurosaki tends to become almost chatty in the most curious of moments after all.

“After that, if you find yourself reconsidering your position… remember that the Lancers will be glad to welcome you amongst their number.”

He takes note of the way her eyes narrow, the small scoff that escapes her, before she breaks his gaze for good – her reactions show quite striking similarities to some of Kurosaki’s. Maybe they will get along much better than their respective dimensions of origin would indicate.

Either way, he’ll have someone keep an eye on both of them anyhow.

_(Before he leaves, Reiji places a neat stack of cards on the table in Kurosaki’s kitchenette, three copies of a card once refused and three of its counterpart._

_There is no telling if Kurosaki will be any more receptive of them than he was at the start of the tournament, but given the results of his rematch with Shiunin Sora and the knowledge of how well Sawatari’s Pendulum Cards had served him against the Obelisk Force, surely the other will see the wisdom of widening his options.)_

_\--- To Be Continued ---_


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hostage Chats or Several Times Shun Barely Refrains Himself From Strangling Akaba Reiji

Shun awakens to a dull throbbing of his ribs, to a pain that no longer allows itself to be suppressed by the meds Akaba’s doctor prescribed him.

“No worries, young man,” she’d said. “In a month from now, you’ll be action dueling as though nothing ever happened.”

It’s only exhaustion and the pain at his ribs that kept Shun from snorting all too loudly – there is no way that Academia will allow him that much time to recover. It won’t matter – he’s no stranger to dueling with injuries and in Standard there is no shortage of pain relieve.

In Heartland he wouldn’t even have that much; and still he’d rather be there than stay any longer within these walls than necessary.

His room is only barely brightened by what light reaches his windows from the streets below – it’s enough for him to find his shirt, pants and belt, to take note that his duel disk is still at his night stand; exactly where he left it before the combination of exhaustion and painkillers had pulled him into the oblivion of sleep hours earlier. Habit makes him slide it into place at his belt holster, even though at the moment he should be safe enough without it, at least in this building.

Bitter lessons survival has taught them: Safety is a lie.

One ill-advised motion is enough to nearly send him to his knees again; his ribs are angry with pain when Shun just so catches himself on the edge of the nightstand, metal digging into the flesh of his fingers as he clutches at it and tries to breath slow and deliberate until the pain lessens again enough to allow him to straighten himself.

He allows for a small noise of loathing for his current weakness before he grabs the bottle with painkillers, unlocks the door and exits into the living room, stopping abruptly when rather than finding silent darkness, he is greeted by the colorful shine and lowered audio of running television and a form of a sleeping girl curled up on the couch.

It’s the girl from Academia; the one who had pulled him away after his loss. Who told him before passing him off to Akaba’s doctor that she had questions to ask him, things she wanted to know.

Serena.

The TV shuts off with a snap of his fingers, leaving them in the quiet of the night; Serena asleep and Shun alone with the thought of just whose mirror image she is. Even knowing who she is and where she comes from, even now while she’s still wearing the Hiiragi girl’s cloths… when he looks at her, it’s his sister’s name that threatens to escape him.

Here, in the current light… just for a second he can see it – rather than the impersonal apartment that Akaba had settled him at, he’s within the broken walls of the Resistance’s base. Rather than Serena, it’s Ruri who is curled up on the thin mattress they managed to salvage a few raids past.

(It’s the furthest thing from perfect, but it’s _home_.)

The illusion shatters when Serena shifts in her sleep, shivering faintly as she presses herself further into the cushions of the couch and Shun just shakes his head sharply – this is the kind of distracting thought that had resulted him with a duel lost and two ribs fractured.

(Thoughts of Yuuto, too many worries and uncertainties; he should have known better, or maybe should have pressed Akaba harder about what he knows. Dueling with half one’s heart distracted from the task gets people killed, he’s learned that a long time ago.)

It’s hard to say which thought or instinct compels him to move – he should tread wary with her, he knows; she may share his sister’s face, she may have helped him escape from being sealed away by Shuinin Sora, but she is still one of Academia and Shun cannot allow himself to be anything but distrustful of her – or maybe it’s just hard to admit to the feelings driving him, knowing that she is the furthest of who he wishes her to be, so he just doesn’t think too much when he pulls his trench coat off the wall peg and drapes it over her.

He moves on into the kitchenette, pouring himself a glass of water to knock the meds down with, sitting down at the table as he waits for the pain in his side to dull. His eyes narrow when he notices the stack of cards left on it, frowning as he fans them open and tilts them for the nightlight to reveal their names.

They are Pendulum Cards.

 _Raid Raptors_ Pendulum Cards.

There is no doubt about the source of them, the how’s and why’s of their appearance in his apartment, the message they are supposed to deliver and just the thought of it has Shun clenching his free hand tightly.

There is a number of things that he’ll allow Akaba to ordered him around about, things that he’ll compromise about for the sake of rescuing Ruri.

He draws a line at being told how to build his deck.

Shun takes a measured breath before he rises from his chair again, turning slowly and deliberately to the vent cover he knows Akaba has hidden a camera behind.

“Get down here. We need to talk,” he says, sure that his message well be received and delivered quickly enough; if they aren’t watching him, they are sure to be watching the girl. She is a soldier of Academia after all and it’s only the strangest of circumstance that has kept him from clashing with her in conflict so far.

Sure enough, his duel disk receives a ping just minutes later and Shun takes that as a prompt to leave the apartment and lean back against the door while he waits for Akaba to show, arms firmly crossed over his chest to mask the fingers resting against his injured ribs.

It’s an unnecessary expression of pride, he knows, an attempt to hide a weakness they are both well aware of, but Shun loathes to be pitied and the last person in any dimension he wants to be pitied by is Akaba Reiji.

(Ironically, he admits, Akaba Reiji is the least likely person within all of Standard to ever consider that kind of emotion anyway.)

It doesn’t take long until he hears the ever measured click of heels resounding through the floor’s empty hallways, knows that it’s Akaba and just him alone long before the other rounds the last corner.

“I’m surprised to see you up already,” is the greeting he gets and he doesn’t need the dim hallway lights to see the detached assessment that Akaba is studying him with. It’s that kind of look that never fails to annoy him.

He ignores it entirely, extracting the hand still holding onto the Pendulum cards instead. “Take these back. I have no need for them.”

The suggestion that he does is insulting enough on its own.

“Is that so?” Akaba asks, one brow raised – more statement than question and he continues before Shun can even nod to confirm. “Considering your defeat by Shiunin Sora’s hand, I believe the need seems quite apparent. I wouldn’t have thought you someone to blame your losses on bad luck, and I’m well aware that your skills are more than a match to his, so it must be your deck that’s lacking.

Don’t you agree?”

Shun feels himself tense further and further with every single word, his teeth grinding together as anger makes his blood go cold, trembling faintly half in rage, half from the effort to restrain it – Akaba is provoking him to snap, he knows he is, he’s not going to give him the satisfaction of–

“Or is it something else that’s lacking after all, I wonder? Do I have to fear for your ability to fight? Has defeat dulled your talons and taken your wings, Kurosaki? Perhaps, it has left you paralyzed?”

He surges forward without thought, arms unfolding and eyes blazing, his restrain gone right out the window as his voice rises: “You _bastard_ ; don’t you–”

It’s the pain in his side that forces Shun to cut himself off; he wheezes faintly and allows himself to fall back against the wall after a moment of struggle. His right hand fingers dig painfully into the edges of the cards as he reigns in his temper and curses his weakness. He should know better than to fall for something that is so very obviously designed to get under his skin.

He does know better.

“I’m still alive. I can fight,” is what he says when he finds the grip on his anger tight enough and he meets the other’s eyes again. “That’s all you need to care about.”

In all likeliness, it’s the only thing Akaba Reiji cares about anyway.

Akaba holds his glare – now again distant as ever, whatever is on his mind is a mystery to Shun – before he simply nods and reaches up to push back his glasses, his voice void of the earlier smugness that had served so well in prodding into Shun: “Very well. These cards are an offer, nothing more, and you may use them at your own discretion. I must say, I’m surprised how strongly you resent them though. I would have thought that you of all people would appreciate further arms to wield against Academia – especially now.”

Especially after that loss, especially after the Battle Royal, especially after Academia decided to show force in Standard, Shun fills in by himself. What they were faced with in the past day was only a standard-size strike team rather than the invasion force that swept into Heartland _that_ day, but all that means is that the invasion of Standard wasn’t their intent. Not yet anyway.

All things considered, they were lucky.

( _Shun_ was lucky – and that’s the only reason he’s alive right now; the knowledge of that tastes bitter at the back of his tongue, as does the fact that Akaba is _right_.

With Yuuto gone, he can’t allow himself any more mistakes like his loss against that brat. Not when Ruri is still in Academia’s hands.)

He doesn’t reply, shows his dislike of this whole situation open on his face, but he pockets the cards anyway, and that’s enough for Akaba to acknowledge with a nod and move onto another topic: “You may have already guessed that the finale of the tournament has been called off.“

Indeed he has, but that wasn’t a particularly hard assumption to make. Academia had decimated the numbers of competitors quite a bit after all, maybe by too many for even Akaba to explain away. Still…

“Convenient. I won’t be able to hold my end of our deal then.”

Which begs to question… just where does that leave them? The situation now is very different to when Shun initially agreed to move as Akaba’s pawn in the tournament, after all (with the tournament over his alliance with Akaba is up in the air – the other has his Lancers now – all while Ruri is still in the hands of Academia. Yuuto is gone as well, leaving Shun alone on enemy territory and the thought of being dependent on Akaba Reiji’s benevolence doesn’t sit well with him. It never had).

“You did just fine, Kurosaki. Regardless of our initial covenant, I suppose I owe you to keep up my end. Do you still wish to duel me?”

That is another question left hanging between them, and part of Shun would like to say, yes, yes he would – just for the chance to pressure Akaba properly, to take the reality of war to him for once. To see if he’ll keep treating it as impersonal as he has up to now, when it’s _him_ risking himself on the battlefield. To measure his own skills up against the other, to forget war for just a second and _duel_  the way this game was always meant to be played. But…

“…No. There’s currently no point in that.”

Not right now, but if there’s ever a time where there is, he won’t hesitate to cash in on that original agreement. He can’t quite tell if Akaba acknowledges that side to his answer, not from the nod he gets, and not from the faint hint of satisfaction on the other’s face as he changes topics again: “Very well. I believe Serena has yet to leave your side. Have you had a chance to talk yet?”

Shun frowns, uncertain and suspicious of whatever exactly Akaba is prodding at now, but finally shakes his head. “No.”

But you already knew that, he doesn’t say, frown growing before he asks: “Who is she anyway?”

Who is the girl that shares face with Hiiragi Yuzu, with his sister, who should be his enemy, but doesn’t act the part at all? ‘There is something I need to know,’ she had told him before he had been shuffled off to Akaba’s doctor – but what would a person from Academia feel the need to ask him?

“Serena is a precious existence to Academia and Akaba Leo,” Akaba explains. “It seems that she initially came to this world in order to prove her skills by challenging you… but Hiiragi Yuzu convinced her to seek you out peacefully instead.”

And that’s how she’s ended up saving his life. If she hadn’t arrived at that very moment, the brat would have-

He refuses to think of it.

Instead he focuses at the question at hand: “What does she want with me?”

Why question him? Why not hunt him like the rest of her kind? Akaba just smiles thinly. “What indeed. I would suggest that you ask her.”

“I don’t need you to tell me that,” Shun bites back, anger flaring as he glares, eyes narrowing – Akaba knows something and isn’t telling, as always, is actually counting on him to talk to the girl, even knowing exactly what their respective circumstances are. Akaba rarely ever does anything without ulterior agenda. “What are you really after?”

The thin smile widens. “As I told you, Serena is important to Academia. Keeping her out of their hands is a priority, but it would no doubt be to our advantage if we could win her as our ally.”

Because it’s easier to keep tabs on someone who works with you than someone who doesn’t, Shun fills in between the lines. Just like with himself; he can see where this is going now.

“Hn. And you expect me to convince her? I can’t promise that.”

He refuses to make any sort of promise, on that or any of his actions. He isn’t one of Akaba’s minions to be ordered around and expected to follow without question and Akaba best remember that.

“I’m well aware. I’m not keeping you around for your diplomatic prowess,” says Akaba, distant amusement glinting in his eyes when Shun’s jaw clenches in order to keep himself from hissing at that phrasing. It won’t do any good.

Akaba ignores that unvoiced protest, and continues: “Regardless of your lack of diplomacy, given your connection I’m sure that you are more than capable of talking her around.”

Shun freezes in the middle of that sentence, fingers digging into his arms again, as raw surprise and suspicion flash over his face and he hisses: “What do you know about that?”

Akaba smiles distantly again, pleasantly as though Shun had given something away rather than asked a question; and it’s only now that Shun realizes-

“So there is a connection… I have been wondering. Then again, if there hadn’t been, you would have been much more oppose to her presence within your vicinity, no?”

A bluff.

Akaba had played him, is pushing to get the answers that he looking for without asking the questions directly. Hell knows if he’s doing it because he thinks that Shun wouldn’t answer him (he’d be right in this instance) or if he just enjoys pushing Shun’s buttons this way. Maybe it’s both.

(It’s definitely both, Shun thinks.)

Akaba leans forward, that smile still playing at his lips as he stops his games for now: “What _is_  that connection, Kurosaki?”

‘None of your business’ – that’s what Shun _wants_  to hiss at him at least, what he can’t voice, because surely if he does, Akaba will present him with a five point argument of why exactly it _is_.

It’s a grating thought.

“…She looks just like Ruri,” he finally admits, ultimately still unnerved by that fact, by the certainty that he can’t quite keep this girl and the one from Standard separate from his sister, that he can’t keep them apart when he looks at them. That he sees Ruri fade into them, his heart clenching at the sight…

He misses his sister.

“Why does she look like Ruri…,” he trails off, ever bewildered by that discovery; they had known that Yuto had counterparts throughout the dimensions – how could they not after his first duel with the Pawn of Fusion – but Ruri’s… the existence of the Hiiragi girl, Serena’s existence… it caught him on the wrong foot, and he still doesn’t quite know what to think. His eyes drift back to Akaba, catch sight of the way his head is tilted, his eyes hidden behind the reflection of the corridor’s low lights as he corrects the positioning of his glasses, hiding the faintest of smiles with the gesture, and Shun _realizes_ -

“You know _something_.” Then, a second later, with more anger shaking at his voice. “What do you know?”

“Nothing of consequence, I assure you,” Akaba replies swiftly, meeting his angrily searching glare with an even glance. “Nothing in relation to your sister, in any case.”

The lack of emotion in his voice, the lack of _answers_  – this time Shun has enough of it. Heedless of his injuries, he surges forward and grabs for Akaba’s scarf, twists his hand into it just beneath his throat: “I _swear_ , if you don’t-”

Then there are cold fingers wrapped around his wrist, their grip as firm and serious as his own, though only meant to catch his attention, not to deal violence.

“ _Think_ , Kurosaki. I told you, Serena is a precious existence to Academia. Considering that as well as their kidnapping of your sister, it stands to reason that Hiiragi Yuzu’s disappearance wasn’t quite the misunderstanding we lead to think it to be.”

Shun slowly lightens his grip on the other’s scarf, eyes still narrowed in mistrust, but he stays quiet and still beyond that, allowing Akaba to continue: “Whatever Akaba Leo is planning, there is no doubt that he will need Serena as well. As long as we are holding onto her, you have nothing to fear for your sister.”

He lets go and steps back, unable to deny the logic of the argument (despite the last three years lived, despite the knowledge of what exactly Academia’s soldiers think of his people, the deep seated fears and the anger, because to Academia they have always been less than human. They were always just prey to hunt, to play with). The fact of just how unconvinced he is must have shown on his face – or maybe Akaba doesn’t care anyway. Either way, he isn’t finished talking yet.

“Talk with Serena and bring her to our side; that’s your task for now. Between the two of you, you know the Academia from in- and outside… it’s valuable knowledge that I’d like you to share with the rest of the Lancers.”

“My task…” Shun echoes, “I’m not going to stay here to parrot your recruitment platitudes or to train your lapdogs.”

(‘I’m not one of yours,’ he doesn’t say.)

“Even you will agree that it’s foolishness for you to confront Academia in your current condition,” Akaba retorts mildly.

Shun just glowers at him, one hand curling over his ribs. Akaba may be right about this but Shun sure as hell isn’t going to give him the satisfaction of actually admitting that. The other continues on as though he had voiced it anyway: “Rest assured, Kurosaki; the time to confront Academia will come soon enough.”

(Easy for him to say; it’s not his sibling those bastards have taken after all, Shun thinks, not bothering to hide the sentiment of the thought from his face. Akaba’s promises aren’t good enough.)

“Or, don’t you trust me?” Akaba asks chin faintly tilted as though he is already expecting what Shun will say.

Shun’s reply is flat and immediate – “No.” – he isn’t one for games, has never pretended about how he feels about anything; and he sure as hell isn’t going to pretend that Akaba is anymore worth trusting than he was in that shady alley at the docks not even two weeks past.

“Hm. Fair enough.” Akaba hums, neutral and maybe even amused by his honesty.

“Regardless of trust issues, I’m hoping to count you as part of the Lancers. You’ll join into our efforts to bring down Academia, won’t you?”

For all that he has worded that as a question, they both know well enough that it isn’t. There is little doubt that Akaba had already counted him among their number the moment Shun had agreed to their initial deal.

Still. Akaba may push and pull and arrange circumstances to his liking as much as he’s able, but Shun’s allegiances are one thing that he will not allow himself to be manipulated about.

“I will support your Lancers and I will fight Academia at their side… but don’t mistake this for loyalty. I’m always a member of Resistance first. No matter how long I stay here, that won’t ever change.”

Akaba smiles again, the way he always does when Shun acts in a way he considers within his expectations (and as always it takes all of Shun’s self-restrain not to take his fist to it).

“That, too, is fair enough.”

With that Akaba turns to walk away, throw Shun one last glance before he leaves. “Rest well, Kurosaki. We may have to keep you on the sidelines in the foreseeable future, but there are others who will surely be forced into fighting soon. It will be on you to see that they are prepared to face our enemy… and on Serena, if you convince her to help us out.”

Shun doesn’t reply, just clenches his hands tightly as he forces himself to disregard Akaba and turn towards his door, letting his forehead fall against the cold surface once the sound of the other’s steps has faded to distance. There is nothing more exhausting in his current situation, nothing more fraying to his nerves and temper than dealing with Akaba Reiji, but it’s a necessary evil.

It’s for Ruri’s sake. This is the best shot he has at saving his sister. At the end of the day, that’s the only thing that matters.

He takes a step back, frowning at the door, at the person waiting beyond that. Truthfully, he doesn’t want to deal with the mirror image of Ruri, with that other girl that isn’t her – who is from Academia of all places – but there isn’t much choice, is there?

If he’s lucky, she’ll still be asleep.

It turns out that Shun is lucky just this once – Serena’s breathing is quiet and even, most of her form hidden between his coat and the cushions.

He refuses to acknowledge her with more than a quick glance, moves past her as quick as he dares to not upset his ribs again, and sinks into his chair at the table in the kitchenette.

His eyes flicker to the cards pulled back out of his belt pockets, the Pendulum cards that Akaba had made, regardless of whether Shun had asked for them or not. His pride bristles at the sight, but it’s his practical side that makes him reach for his deck and the sideboard he carries on him. He won’t use Akaba’s cards, not now, not yet, maybe not ever, but painful as it is to admit – even to himself – the other does have a point. His deck is painfully overdue for being taken apart and rebuild from its very foundations.

_(Talking with Akaba was exhausting, but Shun is far too awake and alert to go back to sleep now. The only thing waiting there are nightmares of fire and laughter, of people lost and his hometown falling apart before his eyes again and again._

_His time is better spent on rebuilding his deck, he decides.)_

\--- To Be Continued ---

**Author's Note:**

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